TAG music
Simon Boccanegra at La Fenice – Opera Review
A first-time opera experience at La Fenice becomes an unexpectedly profound emotional journey. Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra, directed with restraint and insight, offers a rare space to release suppressed feeling and reconnect with collective human emotion.
Mountains and Seas – Song of Today
Blending ancient Chinese myth with music, movement, and poetry, Mountains and Seas – Song of Today confronts climate crisis, rising fascism, and collective grief through a powerful non-Western lens.
K-Music Festival 2025: Beyond the Boundaries of Korean Sound
The K-Music Festival 2025 showcased a thrilling vision of contemporary Korean sound through powerful performances by post-rock innovators Jambinai and visionary composer Won Il. Blending tradition, orchestral experimentation, and avant-garde imagination, these artists revealed a side of Korean music far beyond K-Pop.
Bullyache: Who Hurt You?
Bullyache’s Who Hurt You? launches the Queen Elizabeth Hall’s season with a striking, genre-defying mix of music, dance, and cinematic imagery. From Deyn’s airborne opening vocals to Barbs’ explosive piano solo, the piece rejects conventional narrative and instead offers vivid, unsettling moments that explore the artist’s need for audience approval. The result is a provocative work that stays with you.
Water: A Bold New Opera for Our Times
Beverly Andrews’ new opera Water breaks barriers with an epic story spanning centuries — from the slave trade to space exploration. Three reviewers reflect on its voices, vision, and bold relevance for our times.
The Container
The Container at The New Diorama is a bold, multi-vocal performance exploring the emotional weight of modern life under constant noise. Through sound, speech, and music, it captures the chaos of today’s world—and the fragile humanity that persists within it.
K-Music Festival 2024
The lovely K-Music festival returned this year for yet another intriguing look at the rich musical landscape of South Korea. This year’s festival showcased its usual eclectic blend of ground breaking music for all musical taste.
Perfection, of a Kind: Britten vs Auden
When composer Benjamin Britten met poet W. H. Auden, it sparked a dazzling yet ultimately tragic collaboration. “Perfection of a Kind” traces their complex relationship—from youthful admiration and artistic brilliance to irreparable rupture—with music, letters, and performance bringing their story vividly to life.